The hype surrounding the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series late-summer stop at Richmond International Raceway is usually predictable. Being the 26th race on the Cup tour, its the field-finalizer for the 10-race Chase, and there is always plenty of talk about who will earn the final remaining spots into NASCAR's playoffs.

Local speculation often turns on whether Chesterfield native Denny Hamlin can add another notch in his belt at RIR or about how the latest rising star in the sport will fare there. This year, Chase Elliott is streaking across the stock-car racing galaxy, hoping to take another step on Friday at RIR toward a Nationwide Series title that will further validate his status as NASCAR's next big thing.

But much of the discussion this weekend at RIR, particularly for the Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 on Saturday, will inevitably be about Tony Stewart. The fatal accident that prompted him to sit out three races, his return to racing Sunday at Atlanta and whether it is fair for him to get a Chase berth should he win at RIR, all have created a buzz conspicuously missing from NASCAR in recent years.

Below we begin our week of coverage of NASCAR at RIR with five storylines touching on most of those topics.

1. Can Stewart get into the Chase with an asterisk?

The saga concerning Tony Stewart's involvement in a non-NASCAR related sprint car accident resulting in the death of Kevin Ward Jr., is the biggest story in national motorsports this year. Another element was added Friday when NASCAR announced Stewart is eligible to make the Chase with the "asterisk" of "rare circumstances." So he got a waiver from having to attempt to qualify for all 26 races, but, having missed three, is too far behind to get into the Chase on points. That means to make it, Stewart must win Saturday at RIR.

2. Will Stewart's presence give RIR an attendance boost?

Before the economy dipped, tickets to the Cup race weren't as difficult to come by as ones for The Masters, but sellouts were a given. The track sold out 33 consecutive races from March 1992-May 2008, with the latter race drawing more than 112,000. Those days are over and the battle for two Chase spots won't alone fill the 71,000 seats available for Saturday. But the combination of the Chase race and the buzz over Stewart's return could give RIR a boost.

Any regular Cup driver not among those top 14 can clinch a Chase spot with a victory Saturday. Should one of the 14 Chase qualifiers land in Victory Lane at RIR on Saturday, two drivers will battle their way in on points. Ryan Newman is a near lock with 747 points and Greg Biffle is in good shape at 728. That leaves Clint Bowyer (705 points) and Kyle Larson (704) needing a Biffle stumble or a Newman disaster to slip into one of the remaining Chase positions.

5. Danica and others need a win

Besides Stewart, teammate Danica Patrick needs a win to get into the Chase. She was in contention Sunday at Atlanta, fourth for the restart of the green-white-checker finish, but dropped to sixth. Because that's her best finish in a two-year career spent mostly around 30th place, get ready for some Danica hype this week. Her chances are slim, though, because she's wretched at Richmond. Other notables who will be left out of the Chase unless they win are Jamie McMurray, Brian Vickers, Paul Menard, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon and Marcos Ambrose